School teacher gets the Presidential hug

New Delhi, Jan 9 (UNI) It was a presidential hug, and the humble teacher of Sarvodaya School will cherish it forever.

It happened at the concluding day of the three-day 5th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, which was attended by around 1100 representatives of the Indian Diaspora, including Singapore Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar, the Chief Guest.

Mr Kedarnath, the teacher, had translated into Hindi a song composed by President APJ Abdul Kalam, which was sung by a group of school children at the concluding function.

The audience listened to the song, enraptured by its melody.

After the song was over, Dr Kalam suddenly got up from his chair, went to the teacher and hugged him for his song's beautiful Hindi rendition.

For a moment, Mr Kedarnath did not know how to react, for it was a honour he had not expected from the President, known for his humility and a penchant for the unprecedented. But he soon regained his composure, and he repaid the hug by holding the President in a gentle clasp, while camerapersons gleefully captured the scene in frames.

UNI